The invention relates to automobile and truck body working tools and more particularly to apparatus for aligning a vehicle door with the cooperating door opening either during initial body assembly or during subsequent body work. One approach to force a door upwardly, relative to a vehicle door frame, has been to wedge an axial section of a two inch by four inch wooden timber intermediate the bottom of the door and the rocker panel. The rocker panel is, of course, the stepped area immediately beneath the door. A force is applied to the free end of the axial section of the two by four wooden member to bend or spring the door hinge structure to produce the desired alignment. To align the door downwardly, relative to the vehicle frame structure, the conventional method has been to apply the weight of the repairman's body to the top of the open door, so as to bend or spring the hinge structure.
Such methods have not been satisfactory because the amount of displacement of the door will vary greatly from one vehicle to another. This prior art method is also unsatisfactory because chipping of the paint as well as actual deformation or other damage to the lower portion of the door is often caused by the wooden timber.
Another prior art technique utilizes a pair of cylindrical members having studs or sharp projections from the curved base, to prevent slippage. These cylindrical members are of two different sizes so that the operator may select one that will produce a more desirable result. A device of the selected size is inserted between the door and the door jamb adjacent to the hinge. The door is then closed upon the device to bend or stretch the upper or lower hinge structure. The use of this type of device involves the substantial hazard of bending the hinges too much with resultant incorrect alignment. Apparatus of this type also involves the substantial hazard of positioning in laterally outwardly spaced relation to the door frame which condition requires substantial work to correct.
The large variety of automobile structures presents difficulties in attempting to provide suitable apparatus, it being very difficult to provide apparatus which will cooperate with such varied structures.
It is an object of the invention to provide apparatus which simplifies and makes more precise the task of aligning a vehicle door, and which reduces the likelihood of improper adjustment which would be even harder to correct than the original misalignment.
It is another object of the invention to provide apparatus which allows application of an easily varied force so that a progressively greater force may be applied to produce just the required physical correction.
It is another object of the invention to provide apparatus which avoids scraping of any paint or any deformaton of any body structure.
Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus which attains these objectives without any lateral bending of the hinges which would tend to position the door in spaced relationship from the primary body structure.
Another object of the invention is to provide structure which will cooperate with a wide variety of automobile structures.